Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,825
Azhar Ali at a presser after the 2nd Test vs Australia:
"We are disappointed. If you look at this match, we didn't lose wickets due to the pitch or ball. At night, ball zips through and moves around a bit so even slight mistakes cost you. We lost 6 wickets in that situation in the 1st innings, I think that was too many. Then yesterday at night also we lost 3 wickets. Batting was easier in the day and we got partnerships. Shan and Asad had a partnership but they couldn't convert it as we had hoped. Looking at how they were playing and how comfortable they were, we thought they can make hundreds and we'll come back into the game somehow. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Nathan Lyon bowled well and picked up wickets"
"It's been a disappointing series for us, considering the expectations everyone had from a young side. This team that we brought to Australia had the best possible options, specially in the bowling department. They were new but you do need to look at what pace you need with bowlers in Australia. If you look at domestic cricket, there are very few fast-bowlers getting a lot of wickets. With the Kookaburra, the pace element is required. Out of the bowlers we saw, these were the ones we felt are in the best shape for Australia and moving forward"
"It's a young attack, it's disappointing but we shouldn't be saddened about the young players, they learn when they play international cricket. We will have to be patient with the young bowlers"
"I wasn't captain in SA so the captaincy is not the reason behind my lack of runs. I know that I haven't been making runs in the recent past, I'm working hard but unfortunately it didn't happen. I do feel I was in good shape and the ball was coming onto my bat nicely but unfortunately I made mistakes on a few balls at the crease. I am feeling very confident at the crease in the match and the nets but unfortunately not making runs. One big innings will hopefully turn it around"
"One positive is that we were on the back foot but the players never gave up. The bowlers fought hard, so did the batsmen like Yasir making a hundred, Babar making runs, Asad made runs in the 1st Test, Shan is fighting it out. There was a lot of courage shown by the players. But we didn't have many partnerships in batting or bowling. To win Tests, you have to win sessions and for that you need partnerships"
"Young bowlers like Naseem Shah in the 1st Test showed he can be a great prospect for Pakistan. I know Musa is raw and young with less FC experience but we have to give them time to build on it. They won't play any cricket that is harder than this. We have home series coming up and hopefully playing a tough series will be of benefit to us"
"Many batsmen in QEA made runs so quite a few of them are in good form and the conditions are good for batting. But we also have to look at how the batsmen here have fought in tough conditions. Unfortunately they couldn't convert starts but they showed that they can play against tough bowling opponents. The next step is to back such players and then the players should pay back when they get the chance to build on starts and make centuries, etc."
"The more we play in these conditions, the more we will benefit from that. Last time and this time, we came a couple of weeks early and that helps you to prepare. You have to consider that there won't be any conditions like this in Pakistan. Surfaces there are different, if the Australian team goes to Dubai or Pakistan, they will find different challenges there because they have played on bouncy tracks and then they will have to go to pitches without much bounce and more spin. So we do have to adapt"
"These are the best batting conditions anywhere in the world because there's even bounce, not many cracks. If you get used to pace and bounce, Pakistani batsmen can score runs. But we have to build partnerships. Last time I scored a lot of runs, Asad scored runs but to win Tests, you have to take 20 wickets and we have to work out how to do that in Australia and we need to make sure we score big in the first innings to get in front of the game"
"We're all hopeful that we will host Australia in future. We had PSL playing in Pakistan, the SL and WI teams came there and SL is now coming to Pakistan for Tests. So after that, hopefully other teams will see that Pakistan is safe to tour. Pakistanis are hungry to watch international cricket at home, we love cricket and love to see teams coming to Pakistan. Hopefully this is just the start"
"Babar has been tremendous in white-ball cricket and in the recent past, he's been building up his Test stats as well. This series will be the breakthrough for him in Tests, we knew he's a good enough player but sometimes if you score in tough conditions against a tough attack, it gives you an extra boost and belief that you will make bigger strides in Test cricket. So that's one of the bigger positives, that Babar has stamped his place as a very good Test player as well. He's been lovely to watch and I hope he can continue this form into the upcoming Test matches. The world is going to know that he's an all-format batsman and he's probably top 5 in the world right now"
"Rizwan has been performing in FC cricket for a few years and had a couple of good A tours, then made 2 hundreds in Australia in ODIs, so he's been waiting. Sarfaraz has been performing for Pakistan for a few years so we have healthy competition now. Rizwan grabbed his chance with both hands at the Gabba and the way he kept. His energy is always good for the team, he kept us up when we were down in the field, he's a team man"
"I came myself with a lot of expectations after the way I was scoring in FC cricket. The conditions here are really good to bat on once you get in, I got in a couple of times and I was feeling really good but I couldn't convert and I think that was the missing part for all the batsmen"
"Sometimes when we lost wickets, we collapsed and lost 3-4 wickets in succession, you don't want to do that in Australia because they will make things harder for you"
Segment on Straight Drive with Bazid Khan and Mickey Arthur:
"I can't fault anyone's effort but the players specially the ones coming for the 2nd time should have taken more responsibility specially in the tough times, they should have shown more character, myself included. The results might not have been different but we would have put up a better show"
"In Australia, we spoke about controlling the rate in order to pick up wickets but we couldn't do that. We started well sometimes but after that, we didn't control the game. We gave a lot of boundary balls too"
"The fast bowling has been struggling for a while. Even last time, we couldn't pick up 20 wickets which is important when your bowling might struggle. Our batting this time was more experienced, the bowlers have potential and we have to back them but if we keep changing, they won't learn anything. If we back them, they have the potential to come good and serve Pakistan. Our senior bowlers Amir and Wahab have given up red ball cricket which has left a vacuum which won't be filled quickly but if we stick to these bowlers, they will come good"
"SL is a good side so we can't take them lightly. If you're playing in WTC, no team will give you easy wins. We're playing at home for a long time, I've been playing for 10 years but I haven't played a Test at home so it's an exciting and emotional time for us"
"I've been playing Test cricket for a long time and I feel that this is the time for me to leave a legacy and create a culture which I believe can take Pakistan cricket forward. For that, I need to perform and lead from the front but also keep things calm in the dressing room and convey what I've learned. I believe this is the right time for me to lead Pakistan. It's a challenge with a young bowling attack but I think I'm ready to take it on, I'll give my 100% for Pakistan"
"I loved batting in Australia and I found the same form at the Gabba and I felt the same, but unfortunately I couldn't convert it"
"Yasir Shah has gotten 4-5 bats as a gift. I always tell the tailenders that if you score a 50, I'll give you a bat. I said that to Yasir here like I told Amir before, but he scored a 100, but then he gave away 200 runs so I said I'm only giving you one bat because you've been so expensive"
"We lost 6 wickets in the evening session so we sat down and spoke about showing character and not giving wickets away, next morning Yasir fought and stayed with Babar and scored a 100"
"I am glad that Yasir Shah didn't fall during his celebration. We all said you tried to become David Warner, he tried to jump but his body didn't allow him, he was so tired and he was cramping up. It's fantastic to reach a milestone like this in your career"
"We are disappointed. If you look at this match, we didn't lose wickets due to the pitch or ball. At night, ball zips through and moves around a bit so even slight mistakes cost you. We lost 6 wickets in that situation in the 1st innings, I think that was too many. Then yesterday at night also we lost 3 wickets. Batting was easier in the day and we got partnerships. Shan and Asad had a partnership but they couldn't convert it as we had hoped. Looking at how they were playing and how comfortable they were, we thought they can make hundreds and we'll come back into the game somehow. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Nathan Lyon bowled well and picked up wickets"
"It's been a disappointing series for us, considering the expectations everyone had from a young side. This team that we brought to Australia had the best possible options, specially in the bowling department. They were new but you do need to look at what pace you need with bowlers in Australia. If you look at domestic cricket, there are very few fast-bowlers getting a lot of wickets. With the Kookaburra, the pace element is required. Out of the bowlers we saw, these were the ones we felt are in the best shape for Australia and moving forward"
"It's a young attack, it's disappointing but we shouldn't be saddened about the young players, they learn when they play international cricket. We will have to be patient with the young bowlers"
"I wasn't captain in SA so the captaincy is not the reason behind my lack of runs. I know that I haven't been making runs in the recent past, I'm working hard but unfortunately it didn't happen. I do feel I was in good shape and the ball was coming onto my bat nicely but unfortunately I made mistakes on a few balls at the crease. I am feeling very confident at the crease in the match and the nets but unfortunately not making runs. One big innings will hopefully turn it around"
"One positive is that we were on the back foot but the players never gave up. The bowlers fought hard, so did the batsmen like Yasir making a hundred, Babar making runs, Asad made runs in the 1st Test, Shan is fighting it out. There was a lot of courage shown by the players. But we didn't have many partnerships in batting or bowling. To win Tests, you have to win sessions and for that you need partnerships"
"Young bowlers like Naseem Shah in the 1st Test showed he can be a great prospect for Pakistan. I know Musa is raw and young with less FC experience but we have to give them time to build on it. They won't play any cricket that is harder than this. We have home series coming up and hopefully playing a tough series will be of benefit to us"
"Many batsmen in QEA made runs so quite a few of them are in good form and the conditions are good for batting. But we also have to look at how the batsmen here have fought in tough conditions. Unfortunately they couldn't convert starts but they showed that they can play against tough bowling opponents. The next step is to back such players and then the players should pay back when they get the chance to build on starts and make centuries, etc."
"The more we play in these conditions, the more we will benefit from that. Last time and this time, we came a couple of weeks early and that helps you to prepare. You have to consider that there won't be any conditions like this in Pakistan. Surfaces there are different, if the Australian team goes to Dubai or Pakistan, they will find different challenges there because they have played on bouncy tracks and then they will have to go to pitches without much bounce and more spin. So we do have to adapt"
"These are the best batting conditions anywhere in the world because there's even bounce, not many cracks. If you get used to pace and bounce, Pakistani batsmen can score runs. But we have to build partnerships. Last time I scored a lot of runs, Asad scored runs but to win Tests, you have to take 20 wickets and we have to work out how to do that in Australia and we need to make sure we score big in the first innings to get in front of the game"
"We're all hopeful that we will host Australia in future. We had PSL playing in Pakistan, the SL and WI teams came there and SL is now coming to Pakistan for Tests. So after that, hopefully other teams will see that Pakistan is safe to tour. Pakistanis are hungry to watch international cricket at home, we love cricket and love to see teams coming to Pakistan. Hopefully this is just the start"
"Babar has been tremendous in white-ball cricket and in the recent past, he's been building up his Test stats as well. This series will be the breakthrough for him in Tests, we knew he's a good enough player but sometimes if you score in tough conditions against a tough attack, it gives you an extra boost and belief that you will make bigger strides in Test cricket. So that's one of the bigger positives, that Babar has stamped his place as a very good Test player as well. He's been lovely to watch and I hope he can continue this form into the upcoming Test matches. The world is going to know that he's an all-format batsman and he's probably top 5 in the world right now"
"Rizwan has been performing in FC cricket for a few years and had a couple of good A tours, then made 2 hundreds in Australia in ODIs, so he's been waiting. Sarfaraz has been performing for Pakistan for a few years so we have healthy competition now. Rizwan grabbed his chance with both hands at the Gabba and the way he kept. His energy is always good for the team, he kept us up when we were down in the field, he's a team man"
"I came myself with a lot of expectations after the way I was scoring in FC cricket. The conditions here are really good to bat on once you get in, I got in a couple of times and I was feeling really good but I couldn't convert and I think that was the missing part for all the batsmen"
"Sometimes when we lost wickets, we collapsed and lost 3-4 wickets in succession, you don't want to do that in Australia because they will make things harder for you"
Segment on Straight Drive with Bazid Khan and Mickey Arthur:
"I can't fault anyone's effort but the players specially the ones coming for the 2nd time should have taken more responsibility specially in the tough times, they should have shown more character, myself included. The results might not have been different but we would have put up a better show"
"In Australia, we spoke about controlling the rate in order to pick up wickets but we couldn't do that. We started well sometimes but after that, we didn't control the game. We gave a lot of boundary balls too"
"The fast bowling has been struggling for a while. Even last time, we couldn't pick up 20 wickets which is important when your bowling might struggle. Our batting this time was more experienced, the bowlers have potential and we have to back them but if we keep changing, they won't learn anything. If we back them, they have the potential to come good and serve Pakistan. Our senior bowlers Amir and Wahab have given up red ball cricket which has left a vacuum which won't be filled quickly but if we stick to these bowlers, they will come good"
"SL is a good side so we can't take them lightly. If you're playing in WTC, no team will give you easy wins. We're playing at home for a long time, I've been playing for 10 years but I haven't played a Test at home so it's an exciting and emotional time for us"
"I've been playing Test cricket for a long time and I feel that this is the time for me to leave a legacy and create a culture which I believe can take Pakistan cricket forward. For that, I need to perform and lead from the front but also keep things calm in the dressing room and convey what I've learned. I believe this is the right time for me to lead Pakistan. It's a challenge with a young bowling attack but I think I'm ready to take it on, I'll give my 100% for Pakistan"
"I loved batting in Australia and I found the same form at the Gabba and I felt the same, but unfortunately I couldn't convert it"
"Yasir Shah has gotten 4-5 bats as a gift. I always tell the tailenders that if you score a 50, I'll give you a bat. I said that to Yasir here like I told Amir before, but he scored a 100, but then he gave away 200 runs so I said I'm only giving you one bat because you've been so expensive"
"We lost 6 wickets in the evening session so we sat down and spoke about showing character and not giving wickets away, next morning Yasir fought and stayed with Babar and scored a 100"
"I am glad that Yasir Shah didn't fall during his celebration. We all said you tried to become David Warner, he tried to jump but his body didn't allow him, he was so tired and he was cramping up. It's fantastic to reach a milestone like this in your career"
